


In Haven

by yayasoba



Series: Magi [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Other, natalia gets into trouble without even trying, some might call that a gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2015-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-18 14:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4708940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yayasoba/pseuds/yayasoba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The mage and Templar delegations arrive in Haven, ready to start peace talks at the Conclave. It doesn’t take long for trouble to find Trevelyan. Adaar lends a helping hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Haven

Natalia scurried behind the line of mages marching toward the conclave. Her thick robes kept her from feeling most of the wind’s bite, but she kept on having to exchange which hand held her staff to allow the other to thaw. By now, both were so frozen she could barely grasp the wood. She was tempted to conjure up a flame, but decided that it would only provoke the Templars nearby into attacking.  _You’d think an ice mage would brave an ice storm better than this._

There was only the final hill left before she’d make it into the village of Haven, where she could find a fire. She pushed forward, driving her aching muscles to work harder. She knew the mages would rest for the night in the village, before arriving at the actual Conclave the next day. She relished the idea of actually sleeping under a roof again.

Daren, one of the leaders of the mage delegation, helped her up when she tripped over a stone. He must have noticed her stiffening limbs, as he supported her gently the rest of the way. Once they crested the hill, he lead her to a nearby building, where he guided her to a chair. He bent down to face her at eye level.

“You ok?” he asked.

She nodded, eyes dropping. She was so tired…

“It’ll all be over soon,” he assured her. “We finally have a chance to change things.”

She nodded again. Honestly, she wasn’t too concerned how the Conclave went, so long as she had someplace to sleep and wasn’t on the run. She just wanted a home again.

“I’m going to go check in with Roan and make sure everyone made it,” Daren told her. She nodded once and curled into herself slightly. Her fingers were beginning to tingle violently, which she relished as she bent each one individually, encouraging blood flow to return. For a while, she stayed like that, sitting and thawing, drawing closer to the fire with every minute, almost ready to stick her hands into the flames. She chuckled at that.  _An ice mage, almost frozen to death, craving fire. Now I have experienced everything._

Eventually, she could feel again. She still had a lingering sense of cold, but that would take much longer than an hour or so by the fire. Her body would take its time to adjust to feeling warm again. After braving the elements for several months, alone, she wondered if she ever _could_  feel truly warm again.

Bored, she wandered outside again, hoping that one of the other buildings would be a little more interesting. When the wind blasted her in the face, she scurried quickly into the next hut. “Maker, I’m going to lose my ears at this rate,” she muttered.

She rubbed them furiously for a moment, before pausing as she realized the only other occupants of the room were three male Templars. She stomped on the fear fluttering in her stomach and glared as they stared at her. “What do you want?” she asked, fist clenching and unclenching rapidly.  _Don’t let them think you’re afraid. You’re not. They’re not stupid enough to start anything._

“What do you want, spellbind?” one of them asked.

“None of your business,” she said, turning away. Natalia didn’t get five paces away before she felt a metal gauntlet on her shoulder. The speaker forcefully turned her around, his hand crushing her shoulder. It hurt, but she channeled the pain into rage. “ _What_?” she asked, her voice hard.

“Answer my question,” he said.

She tried to push his arm away, but it wouldn’t move.

“ _Answer me_ ,” he repeated, looming over her. Natalia felt the fear bubble underneath her skin. It would be so easy to freeze his hand off, but she knew she’d be Silenced and dead before she could reach the doorway.

“Is there a problem here, Ser Templar?” a deep but feminine voice asked from the entrance. Natalia and the Templar both turned around… then up at the towering Qunari filling the entire doorway.

Tightening his grasp, the templar in possession of her shoulder straightened. “This little spellbind brat was just picking a fight. Nothing me and my boys can’t handle.”

The Qunari took a step inside, closing the door behind her as she pulled her staff off her back. She leaned on it casually before looking them over. “Forgive me, Ser, but it looks to me like you are the one picking the fight. Perhaps if you let go of our guest, we could sort out this misunderstanding.” she asked sweetly, tilting her head slightly and batting her eyelashes. Natalia didn’t know whether to gape or snort. Either way, the Templar removed his hand and stepped away.

“Thank you, Ser.” Turning to Natalia, she lowered her voice slightly. “Are you alright, sweetie?”

 _Sweetie?_ Natalia nearly blanched, before she managed to stop herself.

“Look, the bit- kid just burst in here and started insulting us. All we want is an apology,” one of the asshole’s friends said, his tone as greasy as his hair.

Natalia wrinkled her nose at him. She sneaked a glance at the wicked blade on the Qunari’s staff and then at the Templars’ shifting bodies. She saw one move a hand a little closer to his sword. Apparently, the Qunari saw that movement as well, since she quickly slid between Natalia and the men.

“Why don’t we all just agree to forgive and forget and go our separate ways, hm?” she suggested, her tone determinedly diplomatic. “It would set a damper on the mood if we were to start fighting the day before peace talks between mages and Templars were to begin, would it not?” She didn’t wait for them to reply before putting a hand on Natalia’s shoulder and steering her through the door. “Have a good evening, gentlemen.”

Natalia’s first instinct, upon being released again, was to find the nearest crowd and distance herself from the Qunari as quickly as possible. The entire race was mostly unknown to her, and she had no idea how much stock she should put in the stories she often heard about them. She really didn’t want to find out if Qunari mages were as powerful as their warriors.

“Thanks, I guess,” she said awkwardly. She shuffled off towards what she hoped would be food, praying that the Qunari decided her job was done and to leave Natalia alone.

No such luck (the Maker has such a sense of humor at times). “Where are you headed off to?”  _Go away, go away, Makers balls, go_  away.

“Not sure.”

“The mess hall’s a few buildings down, if you’re hungry.” A pause, and then, “My name’s Ketket. What’s yours?”

“Natalia.” She moved through the shallow snow, trying to pick out where the mess hall would be. Reluctant as she was to interact with even more people, she was rather hungry now.

“You don’t sound like you’re from Ferelden,” Ketket observed.

“You do,” Natalia replied shortly, then nearly slapped herself.  _Good job at trying not to piss off the Qunari, idiot._

To her surprise, Ketket laughed. “Is that surprising? Because I’m Qunari, right?” She paused for a moment, but Natalia didn’t reply, so she continued, “I was born outside the Qun, and I lived in Ferelden my entire life. I never had the chance to pick up the Qunari accent.”

Natalia’s frozen nose started picking up whiffs of stew and onions, so she didn’t even think about replying. She was too focused on finding the food.

“I was just wondering, since most of the mages here are from the Ferelden and Orlais, are you from the Free Marches?”

Natalia was saved from answering when a voice rang through the quiet. “Ketoja Adaar! Haul your ass over to the healer’s hut. We’ve got some bad cases of frostbite with the mages and the healers need you.” Natalia saw it was a lithe elf who was yelling at them.

“On my way, boss!” Ketoja called. She smiled at Natalia. “I suppose I’ll see you around.” She waved behind her as she jogged towards the healer’s hut.

Natalia had serious doubts about that as she walked into the mess hall to get some stew (Ferelden specialty - grey and bland). She suspected - or perhaps it was more that she hoped - that Ketoja and she would not cross paths again.

* * *

Ketket fought through the thick blanket of snow. She pitied the humans and elves, especially the mages in their robes, snow soaking through if they weren’t careful. There was a few feet of it already, and the progress to the Conclave was slow.

She quickly found the mage she had seen the day before, Natalia, who had nearly come to blows with  _three_ Templars. The little human was fighting through the snow, with only moderate success. Her robes dragged her down and the snow was above her waist.

Another human mage came next to her and pulled her along. He occasionally spoke near her ear and she nodded, her face set and determined, looking up at the building in the distance. The other mage glanced quickly at the templars in the line near them before moving his free hand out in front of them.

It was subtle, but Ketket saw the distinct glow of magic. The snow moved to either side of them, though very minutely. It was subtle enough that unless you were really looking for it, you wouldn’t realize the mage was casting. Their progress did speed up a little, though.

The mage said something to Natalia and she nodded, before he released her and started to move back down the mountain, looking for any stragglers.

As he turned around, he locked eyes with Ketket for just a moment, before glancing back at Natalia. She was surprised when his circling back brought him to walk beside her.

“I want to thank you,” he said. “I heard what nearly happened yesterday, and I am grateful you were there.”

“I was just doing my job,” she said, but she couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“I know, but I still wanted to thank you. I doubt Natalia did. It’s… not her way,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ketket chuckled, “I noticed. Its alright. I’m just glad I happened to wander in when I did.” She paused, eyeing the human. “Natalia… she’s young?”

The mage nodded. “The youngest in our delegation..”

Ketket’s brow furrowed. “How old is she?” she asked.

“We’re not sure,” he replied. “She never told us. I’d guess she’s young, though. She hasn’t been through her Harrowing yet, though that tells us little.”

“Poor girl…,” Ketket murmured, watching Natalia struggle with the snow. “Isn’t it a little dangerous, bringing such a young mage to the Conclave? With all these Templars around?”

The mage shrugged. “She’s a stubborn one. And she wasn’t a part of the delegation Grand Enchanter Fiona originally approved. She actually joined us a week or so after we left. She’s only been with us for the last few weeks. By the time she joined us, it was easier to take her with us, rather than have a few of us escort her back.” Ketket nodded.

“So, she’s just a tagalong? She won’t have any duties?” she inquired.

“No! No, she’ll be… observing, I guess. She’s quiet, doesn’t speak much, so I suppose she’ll do just fine,” he said, chuckling a little, as if from some inside joke. “I actually came over here to ask you something.”

“What?” Ketket asked.

“I’m one of the leaders of the delegation, so once we get inside, I probably won’t be able to watch over Natalia like I have been. Could you do that for me? Nothing big, of course, just occasionally check to make sure she’s not getting into scrapes with more Templars?”

Ketket nodded, chuckling a little. “I think I can manage that.”

“Thank you,” he said. She could see his shoulders relax a little. It put a small smile on her face, knowing that Natalia at least had one person that cared that much for her.  _She needs someone to look out for her._  “I’d better go check on the rest of the group.”

She waved goodbye to him before trudging onwards through the snow. She subtly closed the gap between Natalia and her, though still giving the young mage her space.

Ketket noticed the Templars from before glancing at Natalia more often than she thought proper. She moved herself so that they saw her the next time they looked over and she glared at them, her staff sparking slightly. They took the hint and quickly moved forward to a part of the group that blocked them from sight.

Natalia didn’t notice Ketket, or if she did she didn’t acknowledge her presence - and Ketket honestly wasn’t sure - and so she remained the girl’s silent guardian as they entered the Conclave.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the prologue for the very long series I've been working on, Magi. It's not all done yet, but more has been posted to my tumblr (yayasoba.tumblr.com). If you want (semi) regular updates, I'd recommend you head over there. This account will be updated every so often, but less of a guarantee.


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